VANCOUVER, Britsh Columbia – The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its foray into Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Saturday night with “UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin,” and the event’s preliminary-card participants did not fail to impress the GM Place’s soldout crowd.

Griffin opened the night’s final preliminary-card bout as the aggressor, and his pinpoint punches and well-timed kicks found their marks often. Dunham returned fire capably, but it was Griffin who controlled the majority of the pace early and appeared competitive in the frame.

The second round saw Dunham take total control with an excellent display of grappling prowess. After dragging Griffin to the floor, Dunham locked in a body triangle and began looking for the rear-naked choke. Griffin remained calm in defense, and a forward dive saw Dunham’s face planted into the canvas. Nevertheless, the Oregonian remained planted on his opponent’s back until the bell and claimed the round.

The third round evolved as a hybrid of the previous two.

Griffin again came out on the attack with his striking. A combination of punches and kicks found their mark, and the lightweight appeared well on his way to repeating the performance of the opening frame. But a brief slip halfway through the round left Dunham with the opportunity to once again gain back control, and the undefeated fighter pounced.

Griffin wouldn’t shake free for the remainder of the contest.

Dunham could not sink in the choke, but the dominant position proved enough for him to claim a wildly scored split decision via scores of 30-27, 28-29 and 29-28. Most observers felt the fight was clearly Dunham’s.

Dunham (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has won four straight contests in the octagon and remains undefeated in his career. Despite looking impressive on his feet, Griffin falls to 14-3 overall and 7-3 in the UFC.

The evening’s first Spike TV-televised fight ended in controversy before it ever really began.

In a highly anticipated lightweight contest, the always-exciting Matt Wiman worked to an early advantageous position over Mac Danzig by securing a guillotine choke in mount position. The hold appeared very tight early, but Danzig wiggled and turned to create a small bit of room for himself to breathe. Nevertheless, Wiman continued to crank the hold.

With his face mostly shielded from referee Lavigne’s view, Danzig continued to try to push away Wiman with his left arm. When Wiman alerted Lavigne to check on Danzig’s consciousness, the official rushed pulled on the fighter’s hand, didn’t get much of a response, and ultimately halted the bout. Unfortunately, Danzig’s right arm was still in the air, and his wits were firmly in place.

Confusion followed as officials were slow to enter the cage. The two combatants, aware of the obvious mistake, looked to continue the affair, but Lavigne ruled the stoppage just, and the fight was Wiman’s at the 1:45 mark of the opening round.

Wiman (12-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has now earned back-to-back wins. Danzig (19-8-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) falls to just 1-4 in his past five contests but should earn a reprieve due to the poor stoppage.

Seeking his first UFC win since October 2005, Canadian fan favorite David Loiseau received an astounding welcome from the GM Place crowd. Unfortunately for the fighter, the welcome prepared by powerhouse prospect Mario Miranda wasn’t nearly as pleasant.

Miranda grabbed hold of Loiseau in the opening seconds of the first round and suplexed him to the floor. From there, Miranda attacked with an unrelenting ground-and-pound attack. “The Crow” made it back to his feet only to return to the floor immediately after. It was a long opening round for Loiseau, and his offense was negligible.

As the second frame opened, Loiseau appeared re-energized. A pair of flashy kicks brought a roar from the crowd, but Miranda absorbed the blows and immediately took the fight back to the canvas. Once on the ground, Loiseau showed the lack of grappling prowess that has plagued him throughout his 10-year career.

Miranda transitioned from side control to Loiseau’s back as the Canadian covered up. With Loiseau’s head dripping blood on the canvas, Miranda unleashed a barrage of what seemed to be 100 punches, elbows and hammerfists. Referee Tony Williamson watched the action from a distance, though he appeared a bit sadistic while refusing to step in. With Loiseau on his belly and his arms protecting his head as more and more blows came in unnecessarily, Williamson finally stepped in with 53 seconds left for the long-overdue stoppage.

Miranda (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) wins for the first time on the octagon while Loiseau (19-10 MMA, 4-4 UFC) appears as though his best years are likely behind him.

In a battle of welterweights looking to rebound from recent losses, “The Ultimate Fighter 9″ winner James Wilks bested German youngster Peter Sobotta in a three-round affair.

Sobotta showed moments of sharpness throughout the fight. A pair of straight punches to open the second round looked to stagger Wilks briefly, and Sobotta spent two minutes of the third round looking to lock in a rear-naked choke. But those moments were the only real highlights for Sobotta. Wilks used a smothering ground game and a capable striking attack to control the fight.

In the end, the third frame was the only round Sobotta potentially could have claimed, but all three judges declined to issue the reward. Instead, Wilks earned the unanimous decision via scores of 30-27, 30-28 and 30-27.

Wilks’ (7-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) win erases the sting of a November loss to Matt Brown in his first post-“TUF” appearance. Meanwhile, Sobotta (8-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) falls to 0-2 in the UFC and likely will return to the European circuit following an expected UFC release.

Canadian Claude Patrick received a warm welcome from his countrymen on his walk to the octagon, and the UFC first-timer didn’t disappoint once inside.

Patrick manhandled Brazilian “Golden Boy” Ricardo Funch for the entirety of their two-round affair. Patrick used a takedown from the clinch to bring Funch down in the opening round, and he alternated ground-and-pound blows with guillotine-choke attempts. The assault was slowed only by a warning to Funch for an illegal kick, though Patrick was unable to secure a finish.

That changed in the second.

After working from the clinch again, Patrick locked in a deep guillotine and fell to his back. Funch followed to the floor, though he had no room to escape. Trapped, Funch submitted a minute and 48 seconds into the round.

With the win in his octagon debut, Patrick (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) now has 11 straight victories overall. Funch (7-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) falls to 0-2 in the octagon.

The pair traded evenly with jabs and low kicks. The contest took its first turn in the closing moments of the opening frame when Lennox landed a solid two-punch combination that left Pyle woozy. But “Quicksand” immediately fired back and dropped Lennox before locking in a guillotine choke from the mount position. Lennox survived the hold but likely dropped the round.

In the second, the action again was again, but Lennox appeared a bit fatigued. Pyle worked for a few takedowns, though it was Lennox who finally ended up on top. But he did little with the position, and the real action came in the final frame.

With Lennox breathing heavily and Pyle cruising, the Xtreme Couture fighter began to signal for his opponent to come forward. Lennox obliged and caught Pyle with a Superman punch that was followed by a hook. It looked as if Lennox might pull off the come-from-behind win, but after hitting the deck, Pyle had one more trick up his sleeve.

From his back, Pyle quickly locked in a triangle choke and began firing elbows at his opponent’s head. After a few tense seconds, Lennox failed to battle back. With referee Kevin Dornan looking on, Pyle alerted the official that Lennox has fallen unconscious with 16 seconds left in the fight.
The official stoppage came moments later.

With the win, which was the 34-year-old’s 17th career submission victory, Pyle (19-7-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) moves to .500 in the UFC. Lennox (11-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has now lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career.

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